When did you see your first 5lbs loss?

Day 3. (But that's mostly water weight.)

Two weeks in. But again, I suspect it was mostly water weight.

2 months...

About two weeks. I started on 1200 calories (I'm very small, this number almost certainly doesn't apply to you) and I spent most of my waking hours on the forum getting tips on flawless logging so I had a good head start. It's tapered off since then, I don't lose as quickly now, but it's also a little more steady so that's nice.

5 weeks in. I lost about 1 pound per week.

a week or so- water weight

looking back (14 years) I'd say I lost 4Lbs in the first week, and then another 2 the second week, and then a pound or so a week after that until one day it stopped so I maintained.

I lost quickly the first couple of weeks because I made such radical changes to my eating: from predominantly refined carbs and packaged convenience foods to whole foods (probably much lower in carbs and definitely higher fiber, better sources of carbs).

A couple of weeks, I think.

Week 1, but I had 150 to lose. I'm sure it was mostly water weight, but I didn't understand that at the time and it was the boost I needed. After all, I had convinced myself that at that weight and age it would be impossible for my body to lose weight! Don't compare your journey to others!

endlessfall16 wrote: »

linsitidswell wrote: »

Why is it water weight loss if you're eating less and moving more?

Good question. I don't know.

Another question is, at X weight, you carry water but at Y weight you no longer have/need it? Why the difference?

I'll answer the first question for myself, or at least try to - I went from eating your standard lowish fat, high fiber, USDA style diet, to eating low carb high fat. In the first two weeks I lost six lbs, much of that (though probably not all) was water weight, as I was burning through my stored glycogen (and the water it is bound in). Any major shift in diet can result in loss of water weight, but low carb is particularly notorious for that. To lose six lbs of fat, I would have needed to be at a 21000 calorie deficit (3500*6) in that two week period, which is 1500 calorie per day (21000/14). I was absolutely NOT in a 1500 calorie per day deficit! So I know there is no way the entire six lbs was fat. More than likely I lost maybe 2-3 lbs of fat, and the remaining 3-4 lbs was water.

I don't generally regain water, so long as I remain low carb (and don't over do the sodium). If I deviate from low carb, say a planned "cheat" meal that puts me over on carbs, I will gain 2-3 lbs (or more!) over night. That's even if I don't go over on calories, just going over on carbs. I know this is water weight because it happens even if I stay under calories for the day. I also think (and this is my general musing, just thinking "out loud" here), that the reason people run into a diet slump in the third or fourth week is largely due to water weight returning (or at least some of it), masking true weight loss. IOW - you lose water and fat initially, then regain some of the water once your body adjusts to whatever changes you've made, making it look like you did great in the first week or two, but that you've "stalled" in the third or fourth week. When in reality, you have been losing fat steadily all along, it's just water fluctuations that make the loss seem erratic. This is why people here often mention that weight loss is not linear. It's also why it's helpful to keep a running average rather than looking at absolute changes week to week.

A week in I had lost 5lbs of water weight.

nkuyumcu wrote: »

How soon after you started your program?

Depends on how you mean "see". On the scale I saw the first 5 pounds within 3 days. I didn't see any physical changes until the last couple of weeks and I'm on day 66. I did notice yesterday that my new jeans (which I bought as 33s, one size smaller than normal) are already 2 inches too big at the waist and I'm having to wear a belt.